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Papau New Guinea
Yandera DFS progressing to plan
Samples from the Yandera project are gathered and sorted.
THE definitive feasibility study (DFS) being prepared
for Marengo Mining’s Yandera Copper-
Molybdenum-Gold Project is progressing
generally to plan and should be completed in
mid-2012. The company says the revised DFS
management structure is working effectively.
A key component of the DFS is the process
plant design work which will be prepared
by Marengo’s strategic partners, China
Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering
and Construction Co (NFC) and
Arccon, their Australian engineering partner.
This work will be undertaken at one of
NFC’s design institutes in China, which employ
2500 engineers who are focused on
the many offshore engineering and construction
projects being undertaken by NFC
at any one time. Arccon will provide supporting
engineering services to NFC.
NFC has confirmed their commitment to a
fixed-price engineering procurement construction
(EPC) contract and will develop their
proposal in 2012 with support from Arccon.
Under this arrangement, Marengo will appoint
NFC as the principal contractor under
a turnkey, lump sum contract and also enter
into a formal financing agreement under
which NFC will facilitate financing for the Yandera
project, for at least 70% of the project
development costs, through its nominated
Chinese financial institution.
The DFS is also addressing two basic tailings
management options – deep sea tailings
placement (DSTP) and land-based
tailings storage facility (TSF). In these options
the tailings are delivered as fine slurry
to either a deep offshore canyon or an engineered,
purpose-built onshore storage facility.
The mining, crushing and grinding
facilities are the same for both options and
would be located at the mine site. The con-
Mineralized samples from Marengo’s Yandera project.
centrator is the same for both options but
would be in a different location for each.
A preferred DSTP site has been identified
and three possible locations have been identified
for a land-based TSF. Further work is in
progress top select a preferred TSF location.
Newmont meets Morobe JV earn-in requirement
NEWMONT Mining’s wholly-owned subsidiary
NVL PNG has met the phase II earn-in
requirement of US$9 million in the Morobe
Joint Venture with Triple Plate Junction.
Newmont now owns a 70% interest in the
joint venture having invested a total of US$15
million over the last three years, and three
years ahead of expectations.
The joint venture ground borders tenements
held by Newcrest-Harmony which contain the
world-class Wafi-Golpu porphyry discovery,
with a mineral resource of 27 million ounces of
gold and 9 million tonnes copper as at June
2011, and the Hidden Valley producing gold
mine with a resource of 5.8 million ounces of
gold. Over the last three years Newmont has
conducted extensive regional and prospect
level exploration within the joint venture tenements
that cover about 3700sqkm of the Morobe
mineralized district within the highly
ranked Papuan Continental Arc.
The results identified at least four significant
porphyry targets at which Newmont has
planned further exploration during the next six
months. This includes continuing diamond
drilling at the Hides Creek prospect, commencing
drilling at the Gumots prospect, and
more detailed target definition at the Sier
Creek and Skarn Creek prospects. The budget
for this initial six month period is $5 million
with further investment expected.
The very highly rated Gumots prospect is
12km south of the Wafi-Golpu discovery, and
Skarn Creek is 17km south of the Hidden Valley
mine. Triple Plate will be undertaking full
evaluation of the Newmont work completed
to date, including the drilling at the Hides
Creek prospect when the results become
available, and the work program planned for
the next six months.
Under the Joint Venture Agreement, the
company has 60 days from November 3, 2011
in which to elect to either contribute to further
exploration and development by funding its
30% interest in the joint venture or have
Newmont solely fund all expenditure until commencement
of commercial production in the
tenements by transferring to Newmont an additional
5% interest in the joint venture, leaving
Triple Plate with an undilutable 25% interest
through to mine production across the entire
Morobe Joint Venture. If the company elects to
maintain its percentage then it is anticipated
that significant funds will need to be found.
Triple Plate’s director of exploration Bill Howell
says, “We are very impressed with the high
level of effective exploration expenditure and
technical expertise that Newmont has contributed
to this joint venture project. Triple Plate
feels vindicated that the large ground holding
that the company acquired some years ago is
now regarded as part of a highly ranked continental
arc setting with numerous structures
known as cross-arc transfer corridors which
are proving to host world-class copper-gold
ore bodies such as Wafi-Golpu.”
12 | ASIA Miner | January/February 2012